Controlling mechanism for elevator-cars



T. N. McNISH.

CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR ELEVATOR CARS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 24. l918.

Patented Oct. 26, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

imoww T. N. McNlSH.

CONTROLLINGMECHANISM FOR ELEVATOH CARS.

APPucAnoN HLED MAY24. 1918.

1,856,994=. Patend Oct. 26.1920.

2 SHE-ETS-SHEET 2.

JE JE /M ammroz UNITED STATES PA'TE'NT OFFICE,

THOMAS NoRRIs MGNIs'H, o F KEARNEY,` NEW AssIGNoR To THE RERLLE i ooMPANY, oF BRooKLYN, NEW YORK,l A CORPORATION' or NEW YORK.

CONTROLLING MEcHANisM roR RLnvAToR-ARS specification of Letters Patent.

Patented oet. 26, 1920.

Application filed 'llllay '24=, 1918. ASerial No. 236,338. i

of which the following'is a specification,

reference being had therein to the accompanying `drawings, which form' a part thereof.

My invention relates to controllingmechanisms for elevator cars and more particu-A larly to a mechanism actuated by the opening and closing of the doors of the elevator shaft, in a manner to permit power 'to be applied to the car only when all of the doors of a shaft are closed.

Heretofore it has been al common practice to provide-in connection with elevator doors, what ,is known as an electrical or mechanical interloclgthe purpose of which was to prevent the starting of a car from any floor, solong as the door at that floor was open, and until the door was vcompletely closed, each door in the shaft being equipped with this mechanism=- and a more or less complicated wiring system being required. i 1

By means of a controlling` mechanism made in accordance with my invention, I am enabled to use a single circuit-controller which may ,be-arranged in the penthouse, or some other point inaccessible to the operator' of the car, said controller being mechanically connected to every door Vin a shaft, so that the opening of any door in the shaft will cut off power from, or prevent the application of power to the ele- Vator car.' This mochanism is entirely independent of the lock upon the door and since, ordinarily, elevator doors are so constructed as to be incapable of being opened except .from within the elevator shaft, it is apparent that the power can be cut ofi' from the car only when the car is at a door-opening` of a floor. V

To imake a mechanism made in accordance with my invention, effective in use, it is so constructed that the power'will be cut off from the car substantially simultaneously with the initial opening of the door, and will become effective to close the circuit ci' otherwise release the Vcontroller within the car, only when the :door is substantiallyclosed. i The controlhng mechanism is entirely automatic, the actuating means therefor being so connected withithe various doors of a shaftV Vas to permit the opening and closing'of any door without disturbing or afi'ecting any other door in the shaft. Saidactuating means is so constructed and arranged as to be capable of use with anyV type of door, whether of the Vertically sliding, laterally sliding, or hinge type, and it maybe as readily applied'to a Vertically sliding' door of theftruckable type or of a telescoping type, the ymode' of operation of the controlling mechanism being substantially identical, irre'spective of 'the type of door to which it is. applied. Furthermore, it may be applied to any of the well known types of elevator systems, irrespective of whether z it be electric orV hydraulic, or`

whether the Controller for the car be ,an ordinary resistance box or whetherit be a shipper cable. i

The main object of the invention is to provide a controlling mechanism of the type to which myl invention relates, wherein the Controller for the car will be made inoperative by a single electrically actuated,

device, common to all of the doors in a shaft andiso constructed and arranged that the opening of any door will make said controller. for the car inoperative, and-so maintain'it until the door has been fully closed, sorthat a mechanical lock carried by the door must operate before power can be applied to the car. q

The invention consists primarily in a controlling mechanism for lelevator, cars,v embodying therein a controller operative from within a car and means to Jrevent n j u said controller being made operative to'apply'power to the car, comprising an electric Circuit including therein a plurality of elecv trio contacts, one of which is adapted to have m'ovement in relation to the other, a mo'vable member adapted to actuate said movablecontact member, actuating means vfor said moifable member exten'ding adjacent all of the doors of a shaft, and means carried by said actuating means adapted by engagement with said doors respectively, to

impart movement to said -movable member i with the opening and closingofany door in a shaft; and in such other novel features of construction and combination of parts, as are hereinafter set forth and described, and more particularly pointed out 1nv the claims hereto appended.

Referring to the drawings p Figure 1 is a fragmentary portion of an' elevator shaft showing two doors of the truckable type, and'having a controlling mechanism made in accordance with my in-v vention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a detailview upon a larger scale of the make and break mechanism and the movable member` actuating same;

Fig. 3 is a detail view of said mechanism modified to adapt it to a controlling system for elevators employing a solenoid; i

Fig. ll is a view of a portion of an elevator shaft having therein doors of the telescoping type with my invention applied thereto;

F ig. 5 is a similar-,view showing the in vention applied to laterally sliding doorsg and i a Figs. 6 and 7 are respectively a view of a portion of an elevator' shaft employing double swinging doors and a cross-sectional view-thereof upon a larger scale, a controlling mechanism made in accordance with my invention being shown in connection) therewith.

Like letters refer to like parts throughout,

the several views. I n

In Fig. 1 of the drawings, I have shown an embodiment of the invention as applied to a type of door known as a truckable door, consisting of two door sections, a and b, arranged at each door opening in the elevator shaft, said Sections moving vertically in the same plane, but in opposite directions,

when opening and closing theV door. The

said sections are provided with a suitable lock o, operative when the doors are in the closed position. The two sections are connected by means of suitably mounted cables (Z, insuring this simultaneous movement;

The section is provided withia laterally extending hanger bar b', to which the cables (Z are connected. mounted upon suitable rails or guides in the usual and wellknown manner.

Ordinarily a series of such doors are mounted in an elevator shaft, the door openi The doors a and b are contacts, one of which is spring actuated and adapted to have movement in relation to the others, and 'associated therewlth, means 'adapted tobe actuated by a connection hav- Vmounted upon a plunger f', having thereon a collar' against which a spring ;C3 acts, the other end of said spring acting upon the base g' of insulating material mounted in the switch box g. Mounted adjacent the switch box grand above the plunger f' is a sliding weight k constituting the movable member for actuating the contact member f, said weight V/ being connected by means of the flexible strip or cable i having impact blocks thereon, with the several hanger bars b'. The said hanger bars are ordinarily made of angle iron, the strip or cable z' passing through an opening'in one fiange of said bar, and having a free sliding fit therein, so that as 'the opening of one door imparts movement to the weight 71, through said strip or cable i, the blocks associated with the hanger bars of other doors, merely move away from the operative relation thereto, vSo that the actuation of any door does not interfere with other doors in the shaft.

To insure the desired movement of the strip or cable I provide the lower end thereof with a weight '7' which will always hold said strip taut, while being'of insuflicient weight to overbalance the weight h.

The contacts e c"and the Controller E are included in the circuit suplying power 1730 tZh'e car by means of the conductor wires In Fig. 3 of the drawings, I have illustrated the invention as applied to a type of elevator employing a shipper cable, the sole difference in structure between this form of the invention and that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 being a reversal of the relation of the contacts e, 6' and f, so 'that the circuit instead of being normally closed, will be normally open. In this form' of the invention, the terminal wires /c-/c' instead of leading to the controller in the elevator car, lead'to the terminals of the solenoid m, which solenoid controls a clutch member m', for controlling the shipper cable a bywhich the switch mechanism 0 is actuated from the car.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. ll. I have illustrated the invention as applied'to a door structure of the telescoping, counterweighted type, in which the two door sections, (L2 and `fi, havel movement in parallel Vertical planes and in the same direction, the opening and closing of the doors being facilitated 'by the' counterweight p. In this form of'the invention, theblocks upon the strip z' instead' of operatively. engaging a hanger bar upon the doors, engage an extension p' upon the counterweights p.

In other respects theconstruction'of the controlling mechanism is 'the 'same as that shown in Figs. 1 and '2, it'being understood, however, that`V the same'manner ofconnecting the weight h withthe door structure, might be employed in connection with an elevator, using ashipper cable, by the'modiification of the make and breakmechanism as shown'in Fig. 3 and heretofore described.V

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 5, I have illustrated the application of the invention to an elevator'door of the` laterally sliding type, this requiring merely the modification ofthe details in connecting the weight h with' the door; The make and break mechanism islnot illustrated in .connection with c this view, since' a normally closed circuit, such Vas that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, or a normally open circuit, such as that shown in Fig. 3, may be used according to the type. of elevatorcontrolA employed.

In this form of the'invention, I connect the strip or cable 'i with 'an endless strip Ql passing around suitable rollers r, 17', 112 and T3, arranged in p'airs at' the top and at the bottom of the elevator shaft. Extending from, and securedfto, the reach g' of said endless strip q, are branchstrips Q2, extending about rollers 8 and `8'` at opposite sides ofieach door opening, to the reach Q3 upon the' other side of the door openings, to which they are secured. Said' branch strip or cable passes through an opening in a bracket t carried vby the door proper a, having a free sliding fit in said bracket', and is provided with a block 'v adapted to engage .said bracket. i i

Referring now to thev fornrof the ;inven-V tion. shown in Figs and 7, I haveshown the. invention as-applied to double. swing-y ingV elevator doors, thls form of the invention like that shown in Fig; 5, requiring merely theV modification. vof ,the connection betweenthe weight L and the severalfdoors in the shaft.

In this form of the invention, I employ a strip g having the same general arrangement vas illustrated in connection With Fig.l

5, -this strip `being endless and passing about rollers-r, r', rz and T3. The reach Q3 is provided with blocks w4 adapted to be en-.

gaged by rings 'w3 i carried by extension strips orcables 'w passing over the rollersfw'., adjacent the door opening, and the roller fw2 carriedzby onelof'the swinging doors, x, and being connected with the other 'swinging door x' of thepair. By this construction it is impossible ,to open either swinging dooi`V section at any door opening without interrupting the `ci'rcuit to the con- 'troller, orclosing the circuit to lthe solenoid,

according to the type of control which may be employed.

Theoperation of the herein described de- Vice is substantially fas I follows 'Referring Vmore particulai'ly to the form of the linvention. shown in Figs. :landfi` of the drawings, when/all of the doors Ain an,

elevatorfshaft are closed, the weightvh will,

through the connecting strip. or .cable holdv each of theblocks 'fupon said strip or cable, in .engagement with itsV associated .hanger barb' of each of the doors in'the shaft, the V load 'of the weight h being. applied .to the b. moves downwardly and the hanger barV 6;' thereon through its engagement with Vthe block 'raises the :movable memberv or w weight .hby meanslfof the -connecting strip orccable z' carrying said block. -VVith the as'cent of said weightk, thespring fe' vvwill raise the stem f' andjwithzit `the movable contact member f, thus separating said contact fronithe contactszcne, toopen .the icircation of powerpto the car while the. door remains'open. I

The weight jis used in partas a counterweight to the weight h, and inpart to hold thestrip orfcable i. taut, so that with the opening of one door, the blocks associated with the han'ger bars of all other doorsin a shaft', will,` move away ,from their associ-- ated hanger bars` and thus avo'id the possi- .cn'it tothe Controller E andwprevent appli-V .llO' i bilityof the` foulingiof said strip or cable;.v

Before 'the operator may apply power to the car, it .is necessary to first close any open door, the ;closing movement of the door permitting Vthe weight' L to descend and-causing the block associated with the hanger' bar of the door being closed, to ;follow the hanger bar` until the door is completely closed.` `Whe`nthe door has beenpractically closed, eachf of the blocks will be in the operative'rclation to its associatedhanger` bar.

AS the'weght a appi-ache the iiziit of. .its downward movement,it engag'es the stern i f" which thereafter has Inovementwith it againstthe ltension of the spring fa, until v the movable bridge contactmern'ber';c Vis 'inf electricalconnection with the fixed contact members c-c'. i

The Vstem f". is slidably. mountedv in relation to the contact member f to permit movement of said stemv in excessof that required to actually make contact with the members e e',thus compensating for irregularity in the movement of different doors in a shaft, or stretch in they-strip or Cable i i a 5 The form of invention shown in Fig. 2, operates, as to the elevator doors, identically as heretofore described. The sole difference between the operation of this formof invention and that shown. in Figs.` l and 2, being that with the ascent of the weight h, upon the opening of the door, thepcircuit is made instead of being broken, and with the closing of the door the Circuit is broken instead being made; VVhen thev Circuit is closed the solenoid m is actuated to cause the clutch m' to grip the shipper cable n in a manner to prevent its actuation, and when the Circuit is open, the solenoid will be 'denergizech thus permitting the clutch member m' to assume its normal inoperative relation to the Cable so as to permit the actuation of said Cable. i

Referring now to the form of the invention shown in Fig. 4, the operation is identical with that heretofore described in connection with Figs. 1 and', the sole difference being thatV the weight v72, 'is actuated throughthe strip or Cable z' by the descent. of the counterweight z) instead of by the descent of the door itself.

The actuation of the make and break mechanism, in the form of the invention shown in Fig. 5, is identical with that heretofore describedI this form of the invention differing from the form shown in Figs. 1 to 4, merely in the manner of actuating the weight h through the strip .or Cable When the door u is moved to therght in opening the door, the bracket t will exert a thrust upon the block c, which, through the branch strip or Cable Q2, will move the endless strip or Cableg about the various pulleys 7*, fr', T2 and T3. This movement of the strip or Cable will, through the strip or Cable raise the weight. V vThe movement of the endless strip 01' Cable gwill result from the'pull thereon from the branch strip or Cable Q2, thus causing an upward'movement of the reach g' and a downward movement of the reach Q3. During this movement the blocks associated with'other doors in the shaft, will move away from their coperating brackets t. i Upon the closing of the door the weight 71,

will impart such travel to the endlessl strip,`

or Cable g as to Cause the block 'v of'the open door to follow the door in its closingfmovement, and the blocks 'uV upon other doors to resume their normal position in close juxtaposition to. their Coperating brackets.

The operation of the form of the invention shown in F igs. l6 and 7 diflers from the extension strip or Cable w about the pulley C02 upon one door. and attaching the end thereof to the other door. VVith this Construction it is impossible 'to move either door without exerting a pull upon said strip or Cable w, and hencejneither door Can be opened without developing' conditions preventing the application of power to the car, p

according to the type of control employed. lVhen the doors are open, the parts Will be inl the position indicated by thedotted lines in Fig. 7. i

Vhen any door in the shaft is opened, the several blocks w* upon the endless strip, or Cable g associated with other doors, Vwill move away from the ring 'ur of the branch strip or Cable w of that door.

As the door is closed, the stresses upon the endless strip or Cable Q will be relieved. thus permitting the weight h to descend and actuate the make and break mechanism in a manner to permit the application of power to'the Car. i .The closing movement of the doors, will Create slack in vthe extension strip or Cable w, which slack will be taken up by the movement of the endless strip or Cable` q during the movement thereof,` imparted thereto by the weight h and the connection i.

It will be observed that in a controlling mechanism made :in accordance, with my invention, a single make and breakmechanism is used for controlling` the Circuit from.

which power for actuating the car is derived, and that this mechanism'is operatively connected with eachdoor in a shaft. In this manner the installation of the elevator door equipment is very much simplified, and

the make and break mechanism may be soV positioned as to be inaccessible to the operator 'of the car, thus lending an additional factor of security inrthe elevator equipment.

The makes and break mechanism, being Controlled entirely by the movement of the doors, may be so set as to avoid any possii bility of the application of power to the car, except when the door is closed. VVhile the strip'or Cable i is accessible to thejcar operator, it will be observed thatit Cannot be used by the operator in a manner to 'permitthe application ofipower to the car so long as a door is open, since itsmovement, resulting in the actuationt of the make and break mechanism to permit application of the power' is not possible without a closing movement of the door. i

It is apparentthat a controlling mecha- '-130 nism made in accordance with my invention is not only capable of application to various types ofelevator doors, but may be readily applied to different types of doors in the same elevator shaft.

It is not my ntention to limit the invention to the precise details of construction shown in the accompanying drawings, it being apparent that such may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having described the invention what I claim as new, and desire to have protected by Letters Patent, is

1. A controlling mechanism for elevator cars embodying therein a Controller operative from within a car, a plurality of elevator doors in an elevator shaft, and means to prevent said Controller being made operative to apply power to the car while any door is open, comprising an electric circuit, a single make and break mechanism arranged therein including a movable contact member, a slidable weight adapted, toward the limit of its movement in one direction only, to engage said movable contact, Springs acting upon said movable contact to normally thrust it toward said weight, a member having an opening therethrough carriedV by each elevator door, a fieXible strip connected with said weight and passing through the opening in each of said members, and a plurality ofv blocks carried by said strip, one adjacent each of said members, whereby said weight will have movement in proportion to the quantity of movement of a door, and the initial opening movement of said door will permit movement of said contact under its spring, and with the completion of the closing movement of said door said weight will V operatively engage said contact, thus maklng said Controller inoperative while any door is open, and permitting it to become operative only when a door is completely closed.

2. A controlling mechanism forelevator cars embodying therein a Controller operative from within a car, a plurality of elevator doors in an elevator shaft, and means to prevent said Controller being made operative to apply power to the car, comprising Van electric circuit, including therein a plurality of fixed electric contacts, a movable` bridge contact, adapted to coperate therewith, a stem upon which said movable contact is slidably mounted, toward the limit of its movement in one direction only, a spring acting upon said stem to normally thrust and passing through the opening in each ofy said members, and a lplurality ofblocks carried by said strip, one adjacent each of said members, whereby said weight will'have movement in proportion to the quantity of` `movement of a door, and theinitial opening movement of said door Will permit movement of said contact under its spring, and with the completion of the'closing movement of said door said weight will operatively engage said contact, thus -making said controllerinoperative while any door is open, and permitting it to become operative only when a door is completely closed.

3. A controlling mechanism for elevator Vcars embodying therein a controller operative from within a car, a plurality of Vertically sliding elevator doors moving in opposite direotions in the same plane, the lower of said doors having a'laterally extending hanger bar, and means to prevent said 'controller beingmade operative to apply power to the car, comprising an electric circuit, including therein a single make and break mechanism, a sliding weight adapted to operatively engage said make and breakmechanism toward theV limit of its movement in one direction only, said make and break mechanism including therein means whereby it will become automatically'operative with relation to said circuit substantially simultaneously with the disengagement of said weight therewith, a strip connected withv said weight, passing through, and having a free sliding fit in an opening in the hanger bar in each door of a shaft, anda plurality of blocks carried by saidistrip in enga'geable relation with said hanger bars respectively, whereby said electric circuit willjbe Controlled to make said controllerv inoperative substantially simultaneously with the initial opening of the door, and to make it operative only with the complete closure thereof. o

In vwitness whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature, this *17th day of May, 1918, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS NORRIS MCNISH. Witnesses: F. T. WEN'rWoR'rH, A. E. RnN'ron; 

